The invention relates generally to the field of digital computer systems, and more particularly to graphical user interfaces for video displays for digital computer systems. The invention particularly provides a new and improved xe2x80x9cmessage boxxe2x80x9d facility for enabling applications programs and operating system programs to facilitate the display of messages concerning detected error and other conditions to an operator and to retain the message information after the boxes have been removed.
In the past, using a computer system often required a user to remember complex and sometimes arcane commands or keystroke combinations in order to enable a program to perform usefull processing. In an attempt to reduce these complexities, xe2x80x9cgraphical user interfacesxe2x80x9d have been developed, which provide a number of facilities which simplify computer use in a number of ways. At a minimum a graphical user interface typically provides facilities by which the commands which a program can accept may be easily displayed to an operator, and the operator may select ones of the commands to be executed. This eliminates the necessity of the operator remembering the commands that the program can accept and also eliminates command entry errors, such as typographical errors, which may occur if the operator has to type in the commands manually. The primary graphical user interface facility for an applications program generally is organized as a window, with which the operator interacts with the program, entering data for processing, entering commands and viewing processed data. In addition, graphical user interfaces provide facilities such as dialog boxes, which may be displayed by a user in the event that program needs specific operator input such as values for various parameters for commands issued by the operator, and message boxes which may be used by a program to display messages to an operator if it detects certain conditions such as errors. One problem with current graphical user interfaces, however, is that they will provide mechanisms only for removing message boxes, so that the indication of error or other condition which caused display of the message box will be lost if the operator has not transcribed the message on paper.
The invention provides a computer system providing a new and improved xe2x80x9cmessage boxxe2x80x9d facility for use in connection with a graphical user interface which enables applications programs and operating system programs to facilitate the display of messages to an operator and to retain the message information after the boxes have been removed.
In brief summary, the invention provides a computer system that comprises a visual display device for displaying information to an operator, a common buffer, an application program processor and a controller. The applications program processor performs predetermined processing operations, and detects selected conditions in connection with its performance of the predetermined processing operations. If the applications program processor detects a selected condition, it enables generation of a message box including a message text item, an actuable copy enable facility, and an actuable message box removal facility, and further enables the message box to be displayed by the visual display device. The controller enables the message text item to be copied to the common buffer in response to actuation of said copy enable facility by the operator, thereby preserving it for future examination through, for example, a clipboard viewer or text editor, which may be enabled after the message box has been removed from the visual display device in response to actuation of the message box removal facility by the operator.